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February 23, 2007
Mischief at the Bookseller
There are some days when one wonders if the Bookseller is truly on message with the forces of power and influence. David Whitaker would be very pleased with them, I sense.
Here is their view of the latest pile of paper from the MLA
MLA to decide library purpose
22.02.07 Katherine Rushton
The Museums, Libraries & Archives Council (MLA) is launching a public consultation to help decide on an "unequivocal statement of purpose" for public libraries. The move follows years of angry debate within the service about the extent to which it should focus on new technology, and whether that focus is being pursued at the expense of traditional book stocks.
The MLA's new policy paper, "A Blueprint for Excellence"--which aims to map out the second half of its "Framework for the Future" programme, which launched in 2002—said: "It is time for the public library service to take a hard look at both its role in society and the services it can and should be providing."
It called for an "unequivocal statement of purpose" and a "funded action plan to encourage improvement". Key stakeholders--including publishers, non-public libraries and citizen interest groups--will be invited to comment on the paper in a series of seminars in March, April and May.
The document described "universal entitlement to the skills and joy of reading" as one of four purposes of public libraries, and acknowledged "justifiable concern about the quality of resources, notably book stocks and the state of many buildings" across the service.
It also placed heavy emphasis on building digital resources, and on "moving with urgency and excitement to the digital age, [to] create a universal entitlement to remote and 24-hour, interactive access". MLA head of library policy John Dolan said: "Lifestyle and technology are the things that are taking us forward, and we have to move with the times."
He said that improvements would be funded by the "redirection of existing funds", both from efficiency savings within the libraries sector and by partnering with other public services.
The MLA's plans to overhaul the library supply chain came under further attack this week, after Martin Molloy, president of librarians' body CILIP and strategic director of cultural and community services for Derbyshire, dismissed them as "unhelpful and disappointing".
The proposals, drawn up by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, proposed the establishment of a central contracting agency by 2008, and promised £22m in savings if all library authorities in England got on board. But the scheme suffered a blow last September when the Central Buying Consortium--which represents a quarter of English library authorities--said it would not sign up to the scheme.
Molloy this week stressed that the savings were needed quickly to meet three-year targets for efficiency savings within all councils. "We needed the procurement savings to be almost immediate, but what we've ended up with is a delay in the process. The whole of this has been unhelpful and disappointing," he said.
The MLA rebuffed the criticism, arguing that PwC had always said that the savings would take time to implement. "In 2007, we set out the ambition for the first stage of implementation in 2008, and we are on track to meet that target," said Better Stock, Better Libraries programme director Andrew Stevens. He said that the MLA had made the plans part of its "2012 vision"--but stressed that this was "the end date, not the start date".
Library Katherine Rushton MLA
Posted by Tim Coates at February 23, 2007 12:20 AM
Comments
Tim,
I am curious to find out if your views on the future of the library supply sector has changed since the recent sale of Bertrams to EUK, and their recently announced plans to merge Bertrams and THE (including the library supply division)
Will this make bertram library services the unstoppable force? They will now be able to bid for all areas within the library tender process.
Often Audio Visual categories are listed away from books, or even put out to tender as a seperate item, which surely means that this gives bertrams something that at present no other library supplier can compete with.
Posted by: A Reed at February 26, 2007 2:46 PM
I agree- the recent purchase of Bertrams by EUK changes the market. THE was definitely a possible competitor for Bertrams and their scale in the AV market means that Bertrams are also now well positioned to supply that, too.
I wish someone would shake up the Library Management System market. The current offerings are far too self indulgent-- we need an "easy- lend" system at a fraction of the price. The sepecifications councils put out at the moment are ridiculous and don't incorporate some of the most essential measures that library authorities need.
The mystery to me is why Gardners have been so slow to compete with Bertrams- they have the means to do exactly what Bertrams did, but they seem to have decided no to, so far, at least.
At the same time, you have to admire the way the other library suppliers, Askews, Peters etc have stuck to their offers and remained viable. I find that impressive.
Posted by: Tim at February 26, 2007 8:20 PM
I agree, from my experience of some of the newer offerings from Library management systems suppliers, they have been unstable, and unuseable to the point of insanity when working on the enquiries desk within a library, and I would hate to imagine what these are like for the procurement side of the operation.
Would you know where I could find the specifications for the management systems that councils currently use? Or is there a document that details recommended features?
I certainly would like to second your comments on the other library suppliers, it is just a shame that not all suppliers have been able to remain viable. Too many respected and experienced suppliers, (Books for Students for example) have disappeared recently.
Posted by: A Reed at February 27, 2007 8:42 AM
Sorry to have been slow to answer your question. I imagine each council has a specification for its library management system, so you could ask where you live to be able to see it. The council might say that the contract they have with a supplier is confidential, but I don't think that they should argue that the specification is.
Otherwise perhaps someone helpful reading this might make contact. I would be happy to be an intermediary- in - confidence, if that would help.
Posted by: Tim at March 3, 2007 10:21 PM